


Tainted

by A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Armin Becomes Slightly Psychologically Unstable, Armin Hates/Despises Eren, Armin and Krista are Cousins, Blood and Gore, Constant Usage of Songs, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eren Fucked Up Before the Story, Especially the Relationship Tags, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Current Events, Mikasa is Unstable Overall, Mikasa's MP3 Player, Minor Character Deaths, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Parts Inspired by High School of the Dead, Other Parts Inspired by Other Zombie Fanfics, Physical Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, References to "The Walking Dead", Some Parts Inspired by The Walking Dead, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-26
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-22 16:04:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2513747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity/pseuds/A_Dying_Wolf_Dying_With_Dignity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Each student within a special group of friends possess a tragedy of their own, and the beginning of the apocalypse brings their pasts back into the light despite their willingness to leave them behind.</p><p>The sudden outbreak of zombies at Trost High School causes students to band together in order to survive, but Armin Arlert is still reluctant to trust Eren Yeager after a time in theirs and their friends' lives known as the "fall out". Wanting to keep their friends and his cousin Christa Lenz safe, though, he really has no choice.</p><p>As the scars of everyone's pasts begin to resurface, Armin, Eren, Mikasa, and the rest of their friends must quickly adapt to the introduction of this new threat to humanity in order to survive.</p><p>Even if it means losing their humanity in the midst of it.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Also known as, "Zombies Are Needed to Bring Everyone Together As Much As They Tear Them Apart (Both Figuratively AND Literally)"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gates

Screams of the female students about being late for school erupted, but Armin Arlert refused to let this distract him. He pushed through the sea of bodies, sometimes the smell of sweat or perfume hitting his nose. Despite his usual punctuality, this morning he had accidentally turned off his alarm clock due to his tiredness from studying during the previous night; there was no way he was planning on letting himself tarnish his no tardiness record just because he slept in fifteen minutes later than usual, though.

All he had to do was pass those gates before they closed, and he would be home free. The faster he ran, the harder it became to breathe, but he could not let his short, thin stature get in the way. He slowed down his pace a little once he was near the gates and was finally able to control his breathing, remembering what he had learned from his regular cross country meetings. Something about how "pushing oneself over their limit ensures improvement, but pushing oneself far past their limit will induce too much stress"... or something like that. He chose not to focus so much on it, as he had started to now jog into the building with his backpack carried by its two straps behind him.

He made it inside before the bell rang to signal the students to finish whatever they were doing and head to class. Luckily his English class was close by - the third door down the far right hall, to be exact. He hurriedly unlocked his locker and set the materials he would not need until after his first three classes inside before slamming and locking it shut once more. He did this in a matter of a minute and twenty seven seconds. Not bad.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and read the Caller ID labeled as "Eren Yeager". Surprised, he tapped the green icon to accept the call and held it up to his ear. "Hi," he mumbled loud enough for Eren to hear.

"Hey Arm'," was the breathless reply. By the pitter-pattering sounds in the background, he could tell that Eren was running. "I slept in really late this morning, like REALLY late! You think you can warn the teacher that I'm gonna be late for class? Thanks, you're the best. Bye!" And Eren hung up quickly after that, all before Armin could process and produce a proper answer.

 _I suppose this is what became of us after **that**_ , he thought grimly for what seemed like the hundredth time. The thought of Eren left a sour taste in his mouth. _That asshole... jerk... bastard... Ugh, I don't have time for this!_  He sighed as he walked to his class, his usual strides now like baby steps. Even at this pace, though, he made it before the bell rang.

Christa Lenz greeted him at the front of the door. "Good morning, Armin," she beamed happily. "Hey, did you finish that This I Believe rough draft assignment over the weekend? I'd like to read it to see your personal philosophy, if that's okay. I'm just curious."

He shined his cousin a small smile when they took their seats next to each other, and he quickly passed her his rough draft, all typed up and in MLA format. He glanced at the way she read though the paper carefully and intrigued, the way she looked so absorbed in his work. He guessed he was a good writer. She read it for half of the time used for the opening activity before looking across at him and mouthed, "This is really good," to which he mouthed back, "Thanks, I try."

Behind his seat, unfortunately, was Eren's. At the moment, fortunately, it was empty. He did not want to think about him and remember the way Eren hurt him. He prefers to just pretend like he does not exist. 

* * *

 _Heart beats fast_  
Colors and promises  
How to be brave  
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?  
Watching you stand alone  
All of my doubt  
Suddenly goes away somehow...

Music was the only thing keeping Mikasa Ackerman calm in this situation with the students panicking around her. She pressed her hands against her ears, covered by long, straight black locks of hair, and clenched her eyes shut. Her silvery white-colored earbuds sunk deeper until the music made everyone else sound like an eruption of muffled whimpers and groans. Her chest heaved and deflated at an unsteady pace, her heart racing, pounding, threatening to burst out of her very being. Music always keeps her calm, but sometimes it is already too late to stick her earbuds in before reaching something such as the state she was in at the moment.

This anxious state she is in right now came upon her when she realized that she had been studying the wrong chapter for her World Geography class's test today. _Damn myself to Hell_ , she thought.

She is a gifted student, the school knew already. Not only is she smart and beautiful, but she is also one of the most physically strong students of Trost High School - an honorary member of the MMA Club who is both admired and feared for her strength even if she is only a freshman. However, even she has her own flaws. These flaws became more apparent after the "fall out" between the two people whom she had viewed as her family all her life. People saw these flaws but did not mind them; they only minded when her anxiety affected her behavior.

Ever since the "fall out", she had been paying regular visits to the Music app on her phone for therapy.

 _Time stands still_  
 _Beauty in all she is_  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath, every hour has come to this...

Her music collected onto her phone kept her calm, kept her from buckling under pressure. She would stick her headphones in any time she can, listen to a few songs, and pensively count the number of beats and focus more on the music than the lyrics. Music keeps her sane, and about everyone has noticed it, which is why she is allowed to listen to music during class time. The "fall out" had beaten her emotions senselessly until she took refuge in her music.

_... I'll love you for  
A thousand more..._

_And all along, I believed_  
I would find you  
Time has brought your heart to me  
I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for  
A thousand more...

She checked her phone when it vibrated in her sweatshirt pocket to find a text from Eren. "Running really late, just to warn you," she read to herself in her head. She sighed and put it away, returning to her class work and her music.

 _I have died everyday waiting for you_  
 _Darling, don't be afraid_  
I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for  
A thousand more... 

* * *

 _Shitshitshitshit_ , ran through Eren Yeager's head like a mantra as he sped towards the school. _Shit, this is the latest I've been so far!_

School starts at eight o'clock in the morning. His alarm clock goes off at six and then the snooze button lasts for five minutes. It takes twenty minutes for him to walk from his house to school, around ten if he runs most of the way. The time he finally woke up that morning was 7:45. That is right, he had pressed the snooze button twenty one times in all. When he had realized what time it was, he had hurriedly gotten dressed into a plain olive green t-shirt with a dark forest green jacket over that, a pair of jeans, and a pair of fairly worn-out sneakers. He also stuffed a ten dollar bill for buying lunch later on, grabbed his backpack and his lanyard of keys, and locked the house up before running out.

He first texted Mikasa to tell her that he was going to be late, having ignored her when she came in his room this morning to wake him up herself. He was barely thinking when he had called Armin and then hanging up soon after. Now that it had come to mind, he let guilt tighten his chest until it was too late to push it away. It physically hurt him as much as it did emotionally. That is how hard the "fall out" had impacted the three's now strained friendship.

_Maybe... I can talk to him later and finally sort us out... Shit, I know that we should talk about this after so long, but if I think like this any longer I'm going to be later than I already am!_

Eren made it five minutes after the bell was rung a second time to signal the beginning of classes. He made out three figures at the front gate, the PE freshman year coaches Keith Shadis, Rico Brzenska, and Ian Dietrich. They must have seen him from afar, one of the misfortunate who could not make the bell in time and would then suffer the consequences. After the bell, it is up to these three and any other staff members to pick up the tardies.

"Late again, Yeager?" Shadis said, his tone rough. "I'd expect more from someone who is the son of two skilled doctors, even if you do already have good grades." He tugged out the key to the gates held on his lanyard and inserted it into the hole. With a click, the steel gates opened and Eren was pulled inside by the man.

"Hold up, here comes another one," Rico stopped Shadis before he could close the gates. "Yeager, you stay here. We can deal with both you and your new buddy once she comes."

A girl slowly walked towards them until she was totally noticeable. Her light brunette hair was frayed at parts - a combined cause being from probably hurrying to make it here and not giving it a proper combing - and her eyes had slightly dark rings around them. Her light pink sweater was disheveled and drooped on one of her shoulders with a dark red stripe down the middle, but that must be just the style. She appeared tired, emotionless even, as she continued to limp, perhaps having had hurt her leg along the way.

"Looks like we have Hitch Dreyes," Ian announced. Once she was at the gates, Shadis grabbed ahold of her. "I guess your citizenship grade is going to drop even lower than it already is."

Hitch groaned in response, lifting her free arm up and holding onto the coach with it. Her nails slowly dug into his skin but he did not seem to be affected. Eren held his guard up, weirded out by her behavior. His green eyes darted to her neck. Was that some kind of hickey? No, it was definitely more like a bite mark. And her sweater, that cannot be some red design. That had to be blood.

In one fluid motion, she yanked Shadis' arm backwards until there was a loud SNAP! resonating in the air. The man gasped and growled in pain as she continued to push it that direction with just one hand, none of them understanding where she could have gotten the sudden increase in physical strength. She pushed and pulled at his arm until the white of bone stuck out through torn skin. Rico pushed Eren back to make sure he was away from the commotion while Ian tried pulling Hitch off of the other coach, but she showed no motion of budging.

"FUCK!" Shadis shouted as she broke the bone off with her teeth before sinking them deep into the wound. More blood drip, drip, dripped onto the concrete pavement. Then she pulled him down and bit deep into his neck, ripping at the skin and muscle until it was a bloodied mess and he had collapsed, eyes wide open in frozen pain and shock.

 _Crap, is he dead?_ Eren thought. This is getting even way more out of hand.

Ian finally managed to pull Hitch away and push her until she was against the gates, not caring that he was rough since it was already apparent that she was not acting human at all. He crouched next to Keith to check his pulse on his arm. The woman and teenage boy heard him cuss under his breath and confirm he was dead. What the hell was happening?

The three saw fingers twitch as the fallen one sat up. "Keith, are you okay?" the other man asked. "Do you need assistance? We'll take you to the infir-"

Shadis stood up unsteadily on his own. His eyes were now bloodshot and his wounds already showing signs of decay. He grabbed Ian and started biting him the same way the female student was doing to him just moments ago. Meanwhile, the girl in mention had regained her footing and was upon Ian as well, her movements even more savage now as she joined Keith. Her fingernails ripped his shirt before scraping at his stomach until blood seeped from her marks. It was too late for Ian to be saved from that moment.

"We've got to get out of here!" Rico urged Eren to start running while Ian was turned into a meal. They hurried around to the track and field area, where there were the three classes of freshmen standing there, having been waiting for the coaches to come back. Some students came up to the two, asking them where Ian and Shadis were.

"I need some people to go and warn the other classes that there is a dangerous threat at the front gates!" she ordered them once she made them quiet down. "The rest of you, there isn't much time right now to be standing here. Find any janitors, gardeners, and other staff members to set up a lockdown on the school and then find any places where you can hide yourselves. I will stay here and help you all. Go! Yeager, if you need to warn any of your friends, then I suggest you go now!"

"Right!"

He nodded and ran off into the school building. He needed to find Mikasa, Armin, and anybody else, and then get them to safety.

The "fall out" has no part in stopping him from doing so now.


	2. Teams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have about five chapters written down. The problem is that I forget to update this story. ^_^"

"Well done, Armin," the English teacher Nifa said after using the blonde teen's rough draft to show how she would be grading everybody's papers when they turn in their final drafts next week. "You set a fine example of an A+ paper for a personal essay. I do hope you send this into the This I Believe website."

Armin nodded shyly, his cheeks a light red from being complimented. Once his paper was returned to him, he and his cousin shared a thumbs up and a smile.

Eren burst through the door before Nifa could continue onto the next point of the agenda, startling everyone with his sudden presence. He gave no apology to the teacher, simply walking over to the two blondes' seats and pulling them up onto their feet by their wrists. Both took their arms back, and they along with everyone else stared at him.

"You're late," Armin growled between gritted teeth. "Why are we standing up?!"

"Coach Rico is setting up a lockdown on the school and I am not kidding around," Eren began. "When I went through the gates, another student followed but then she killed Coach Shadis. The thing that's wrong is that Shadis reanimated or something and they both killed Coach Dietrich! Right now, I need the two of you to come with me so we can get Mikasa before we die here."

"Eren, I will not have you scaring the students like this!" Nifa spoke up. "Now I suggest that you either sit down or you can go to the off-"

"I am not speaking any bullshit! I'm telling the truth!"

"Eren Yeager, that is enough!" Armin brought his arm back and slapped the brunette across the face, the red mark of his palm now on his cheek. He calmed down upon looking at Christa's pleading expression for him to stop. He turned his head towards the teacher. "Is it okay if we just talk to him outside? We wouldn't want to hold the class up any more with this nonsense." Before Eren could rebut, he flashed his bright blue eyes at him, which glinted with anger and actually scared him into shutting up. Upon being given permission, the three exited the classroom but not before Eren had grabbed their backpacks. They stood by the now closed door, both blondes with their arms folded.

Christa tried passing the tension along by cheerily asking, "So Eren, how come you really wanted to pull us out of class so badly?"

The boy did not mean to be so harsh to her, but how he sounded and acted just came out that way. "I told you, we're being put under lockdown because there's some kind of outbreak going on. Hitch Dreyes was some kind of zombie and she killed Coaches Shadis and Dietrich!"

"I will not believe in such nonsense, and I most certainly will not especially after you have forced us into this matter," Armin said. He held Christa's hand and stroked it with his thumb to keep her calm. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh, softening his glare. "Yes, I know about this new disease that's been threatening to spread, but the military said on the news that they have been containing it."

"There was a newscast on this sort of thing?"

"Of course." His other hand was jabbed into his front pocket. "But you wouldn't know that since you've said you get all of your news online, huh? Hasn't it ever occurred to you that news stations can be slow on updating their websites?" He let out a mock chuckle. "Oh wait, stupid me, you don't even go on those sites either. You just get news on some stupid gossip on celebrities and such!"

"Armin..." Eren breathed. What has become of him since the "fall out"? He knew that their relations with each other were strained, but he did not know that it had become this bad. Shaking his head, he reached out and - carefully - took his hand out of his pocket and held it. "I'm an idiot, we've established that, but can you please tell me more about this disease?"

Christa tugged her cousin's arm gently to encourage him to speak. "Fine," he finally said, pulling his hand away. "I'm only doing this because this might be the only way you'll let me to go back to class." He rubbed her arm, silently telling her to go back inside. Instead, however, she chose to walk across to the window and look out. Oh well, her choice.

"So, about this disease-"

"Shut up for once, Eren, I'm getting to that... Yeah, if you've watched the news, you would've already heard about this disease that was discovered a couple weeks ago in the mountains of Japan. There was this video by a hiker who caught sight of an Asian black bear going wild and biting its own kind. When he was spotted, he, too, got bitten in the neck. His wife or friend or whatever drove him back to the hospital, but he was already dead from what was said to be excessive bleeding.

"Moments later, though, he somehow came back to life or something. But then he started biting those running the autopsy and the same thing happened to them until one of them who wasn't bitten yet killed all of them. That part of the hospital was put on lockdown, and scientists of all kinds came to study the scene. They discovered some new bacteria from both there and from the Asian black bears, and when someone volunteered to be infected for more studying purposes they figured out the symptoms." He paused briefly to glance at his cousin, who did not seem to be paying attention to his words and he was grateful for that; one of the last things he wanted was to worry her with this.

"Anyways," he continued, "scientists found out that for humans, the symptoms include extreme migraines, vomiting blood, high fever, slow movement, spasms, bleeding through different parts of the body, and, eventually, death. It takes a few minutes to a several hours for the corpse to reanimate, but it all depends on where the infection begins. For their experiment, they tested an infection through the arm and that took about seven hours.

"The military made a news announcement that the disease is being contained, but honestly I'm still kind of worried. There hasn't been much news about what's going on in Japan since the United States is mainly panicking about the whole 'freelance reporter's head being chopped off in Syria' story. God knows what'd happen if it were to somehow spread here."

While Eren stood back to process the new information, even though he was already aware that this disease has already spread, Christa remained silently mortified by the sight going down outside the building. She could barely hear the shrieking of terrified female students through the thick window pane, but she could definitely see why. What was happening? Why was this happening?!

Pools of blood were splattered everywhere down there. Girls screaming, guys trying to fight back but to no avail, blood, blood, blood. Death. This reanimation process Armin was talking about proving to be true, seeming at first like a "miracle" to the victims' friends and/or siblings until they realize that they have the same lifeless glint in their hollowed eyes. Some realize it too late. For every zombie that dies, five or six humans are killed, she estimated in her head.

She witnessed two girls holding hands as they ran together - best friends, no doubt. But when one of them was caught, the other kicked her face until their hands were separated. Her consequence, though, was that she was attacked from behind soon after.

_No, this is horrible. This cannot be happening! This should be impossible!_

* * *

Sasha Braus and Connie Springer dashed down the halls with baseball bats in hand and helmets on their heads and not considering the fact that they could interrupt the classes in session. It was both lucky and unlucky for them to have had P.E. for their first class. They could have been killed down there like the rest of their classmates, but it was fortunate for them to have survived and to have been the ones up to bat during their baseball matches. Together they bashed the heads of any zombies in their way, having already come to terms that once the corpses reanimate, they are not their classmates anymore but empty, rotting shells. It seems that playing all those zombie games and watching zombie apocalypse movies and television shows have paid off.

Those things were absolute beasts - skin paled to gray, eyes hollowed out, blood seeping through places which have been broken and torn through. When Coach Rico Brzenska rushed over and told them to help set up a lockdown while Eren ran into the school building, they all thought she was crazy. Then they had to realize that she is not the kind of woman who would fool around. Unfortunately most of the students were absolutely terrified when the zombified forms of Hitch Dreyes, Keith Shadis, and Ian Dietrich showed up around the corner and managed to grab a couple of them, causing a large panic. Only Connie and Sasha were able to process the situation quick enough to fight back before running into the building.

And so here they were, figuring out their next move as they continued to run.

"Do we split up to grab the others?" Sasha asked through her laboring breaths. Good thing she was in gymnastics and archery, otherwise she would not have been able to keep her collected breathing under this sort of pressure.

"What?! No way are we splitting up!" Connie spat in a quick exhale. "Sure, we can when we find the others, but we have to stay together or else we're as good as minced meat!"

"Mmm... Minced meat~"

"Now is not the time, Sash'!"

The two heard arguing coming from two male voices up ahead, one which barely sounded like a guy's and the other definitely a guy's. As they neared them, they could make out that those were Armin and Eren's voices. They turned the corner and saw them yelling a teach other while poor Christa stood at the window watching all the gore taking place down at where they just came from. None of them knew they were there.

"I will not believe in such tomfoolery, Yeager," Armin snapped. He stood there, small in size but obviously pissed off. "I may have explained the situation involving the disease, yes, but I am not implying that I believe that this city has already been infected. The military is taking care of this."

"Listen to me, Armin," Eren said through gritted teeth. He grabbed the blonde's shoulders and gripped them tightly. "If I were to lie about something like this, wouldn't I have already confessed to have done so all for a stupid prank? You've witnessed me in action, remember? You're supposed to know me."

"I stopped trying to figure out who you are after what you've done to me."

Sasha gasped, causing the three to finally look their way and acknowledge them. She and Connie knew- No, everyone in the school knew about the "fall out" between the two boys which took place a few weeks ago. It left behind traumatic scars for them, and even Mikasa became emotionally distressed soon after. Of course Armin could not trust Eren the way he did when they were younger. Of course.

"W-Why is there blood on those bats a-and on your P.E. shirts?" Christa spoke up, her body quivering. "Oh my god, you guys had to fight your way here?!" Armin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her back. "If you were down there, then..." She crouched down, her cousin following in an attempt to still comfort her. "... then they will come here too."

"Do you believe me now, Armin?" Eren hissed. "We've got to grab our friends and get out of here."

Armin stood up and glanced out the window for the first time. His lips pressed together to form an almost white line. Biting the insides, he looked away. Christa's genuinely fearful face was proof. Sasha and Connie were living proof. What was happening outside was undead proof. There was no escaping proof, there was no sense in being in denial. Eren was right and he hated that. He hated Eren so much; or, at least he is still trying to hate him. But he could not hate him right now.

"We grab our backpacks and we go to Mikasa's World Geography class," he sighed. Eren managed a smile and reached out to pat his back, but then he received a glare before he could. "Just know that I'm doing this because I want us safe, not because I forgive you."

"I don't care if you don't forgive me because that's not what I'm asking for," the brunette said as he went over to grab the handle of the door to their class. "All I'm asking is for you to trust me."

And then, the intercom came on.

* * *

Soft brown eyes darted to the door and watched how whoever was on the other side was wriggling the locked door handle frantically. He clenched his eyes shut as he lied back down, covering his ears. The nurse was pulled out of the infirmary by those things before his Geometry class' escort, Jean Kirchstein, had slammed and locked the door shut. For all he knew now, whoever was on the other side should now be considered as whatever.

The office was overrun shortly after Jean had taken Marco Bodt here to the infirmary to lie down due to this increasingly painful headache pounding against his skull. All the screaming, all the useless calls for help, all the sorts of banging sounds on the other side of the door - it just made his headache worse. Jean was rushing to find some kind of painkiller, anything to help him, through the numerous cabinets and drawers in this large room. After his problem was solved, they would pack up all the medical and other necessary supplies, find some suitable weapons for protecting themselves for now, and then figure out how the hell they were going to get out of here. The plan was simple, but carrying it out was going to be the hard part.

"How?" he breathed. "How could this happen? Why now? Just... I don't understand any of this." His head kept throbbing and it was hurting like hell.

"Neither do I, Mars," Jean sighed, finally finding a small canister of white pills labeled as Tylenol. He set it next to the freckled boy's head, followed by an unopened bottle of water he found in the mini fridge under the counter. "Once you feel better, we have to somehow move. Like I said, let's just pack up as many sorts of supplies we can carry in the emergency backpacks, figure out what we can use as weapons, and then figure out how we can get out of here. If luck is on our side then maybe we can find some people to group up with for safety in numbers."

Marco swallowed one pill with a gulp of water to follow and then repeated the pattern once more with a second. Slowly, yet surely, he could feel relief rushing through. He sat up on the bed and stared back at his friend. They have been best friends since middle school and they trusted each other with pretty much their lives. If they were going to have to deal with whatever this mess was, then they were going to deal with this together. As far as he knew from watching zombie movies and occasionally playing a zombie video game with Connie and Sasha, it is best to remain in a group so that way there would be others to help in a time of need. Finding their friends was their best option at surviving.

Jean opened a cabinet and found two backpacks each filled with basic supplies - three bottles of water, at least five to six granola bars, a couple cans of food, a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, blankets, and then the emergency hatchet meant for fires laid in there as well. The two opened all the cabinets and drawers, packing as much medicine as they could get. They even found Mikasa's spare inhaler, which was placed in Marco's backpack before they could forget. All they needed to do now was plan out their escape.

"You should carry the hatchet, Jean," Marco insisted. "You're physically stronger than me, so you're more qualified to use it."

"But you're faster at reacting to movement than me, even if you are kind of slow," the ashy brunette rebutted. "The thing is kinda light, which is good, and I'm also pretty sure agility is more important than brute strength in this situation. Don't worry about me, though, I'll just use what I can find in the closet." As said, he went through the closet and found not only some lost and found items, but also one of the toolboxes for when the janitors ever need to repair something. He smiled as he packed it, leaving out a hammer for him to hold.

They couldn't just barge out there, not while those things were still in a frenzy. They would have to constantly peek through the window to check if they were at least distanced from the door enough for the two to knock any away from them and make a break for the door which would lead them to the hallway.

It was going to be a long, painful waiting game.

* * *

_I can't escape this hell_

_So many times i've tried_

_But i'm still caged inside_

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

_I can't control myself_

Mikasa's foot tapped quietly to the dark beat of a song by Three Day's Grace.

She remembers most of the chapter she was supposed to study for the test rather than the one she ended up studying. Thank god. Usually she would do so well, especially with her amazing memorizing skills, but after what happened between Armin and Eren, all she wanted to do was forget, forget, forget.

Focus, she kept telling herself. Don't think of anything but the test. If she were to break down now, people would have to worry about her. Eren and Armin would worry about her once they find out. Annie Leonhardt would worry about her, and there was no way in hell she would want that either, especially since she was sitting a couple rows away. Stay calm Mikasa.

It was hard for her to stay calm when the intercom turned on, her being able to hear since her music was at a low enough volume. She took one of her earbuds out and waited with everyone else for the announcement while finishing her test at the same time.

Groaning and low yet loud growling was what came through the speakers. Followed by that was the screaming of, no doubt, the school nurses in the background. One of them was yelling something like "No! Stop!" while the other exclaimed something like "Get away!" More screaming, and soon the tearing of flesh and bone, came next, the voices cut off.

But then what made Mikasa actually quiver in her seat was the sound of familiar voices in the background as well.

"Marco, stay in there and don't get up. I'm gonna have to close the door!" Was that Jean shouting? "Dammit, what are these things?!" There was no denying it, that definitely was Jean, and he just made it known that Marco was there too.

The sound of a door slamming shut was what the students heard before the intercom was cut off. What had they just listened to?

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

The students' whispering ceased when Eren burst through the door. He walked through the classroom, ignoring the teacher's scoldings, and pulled Mikasa out of her seat. He next got Annie to stand up. Standing by the door were, to her shock, Armin and Christa. Behind them were Connie and Sasha, their gym clothes dirtied by sweat, dirt, but most of all blood.

"Grab your things, you're coming with us," he told the two girls. "You heard what was on the intercom. That was real, not shitting you, and we need to get out of here now."

Annie yanked her wrist away. She shot him her usual icy glare, but nonetheless she picked up her backpack. Nodding towards Mikasa, she got her to do the same thing. The other students around them began packing up and standing, some already walking to the door.

"Eren's right, let's get out of here," a boy named Thomas said as he approached the door. He and a small group of other students followed him out, turning right in favor of the direction of the front exit. "The other exits are too far, so we'll have to take our best shot." The others waited, a few looking out the door to see if they were going to make it.

"Wait," Christa spoke up, her voice barely audible. "Those noises, and the intercom... Didn't those come from the office, which is near the front doors?"

And as the screams erupted, Mikasa realized that the song coming to an end on her phone was perfect for that moment.

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

_(This animal I have become)_

* * *

The zombies had moved from the office area to all the halls the front of the building had. It was foolish of any escaping students to not have a suitable weapon in case they had to fight. It became just like what happened on the P.E. grounds. Bones breaking, organs tearing, blood, blood, blood. Death and reanimation. Betrayal and payback. Crying and screaming. These people suffered horrible fates, whether they were good or bad.

The stench of rotten flesh combined with the rustiness and saltiness of blood reeked in the air. No one could blame Mikasa for throwing up from the smell. No one could blame Armin for feeling dizzy and nauseous when he looked back at the mess of what was left of the few students who had left the World Geography classroom, entrails splattered all over the floors and walls and the smell so damn strong. Both kept pushing themselves forward as their enlarged group turned left out of the room in order to find the others.

Ymir, Reiner, and Bertholdt were their next targets. The three being sophomores, they would have to go up another story of the building. It was already apparent that they would be able to protect themselves, but no one wanted Christa to worry over her girlfriend, who cares about her and herself above all else.

"Why not go after Jean and Marco?" Mikasa asked. "The office was overrun."

"Correction, it was the first place to be overrun," Armin said. "We saw those things walk through the halls and go into a frenzy because there was fresh meat - humans. It's likely that they would go out of the office to find more meat." He looked back at the others, who were close behind him. With his training in cross country, he had become faster than most of them. "I can see the hall that leads to the main entrance coming up. Then we go up the stairs."

Upon turning the corner, however, Armin was immediately pulled back and they all stopped in their tracks. The walking corpses were already there. They had forgotten about the other two halls of this story of the school.

In the realization that they could be surrounded if they did not run up the stairs soon, Christa had passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used in Mikasa's part is "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days' Grace

**Author's Note:**

> Song used in Mikasa's part is "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri


End file.
